August 4 - We left St Louis and went down to Southeast Missouri to visit with our friends Pat and Paul. You might remember the picture to the right when they visited us in Key West. If you've read our website much, you also know these are the people that we purchased our boat from and yes, we are still friends.

Below, you can see their home. They built this while cruising and I remember that I always thought it was very small. Today, I think it has a great deal of space in it. Isn't it amazing how your perspective changes when you are in different circumstances. They own about 80 acres and they have a farmer who actually plants the crop. This year, you can see from the ride we took on his "mule," it is corn. They have also had beans and wheat.

 Paul just had to have another boat and he wanted to build one. Since he is very good with wood, the decision was made to build a Redwing 24 which is a wood boat. I saw it last summer when he only had the frames completed and some of the skin on for the sides and bottom. Now he has made a great deal of progress and almost has the superstructure complete. The engine is to arrive within a week so he can mount it and then complete the engine housing. We picked up the Lexan for the side windows and the tempered glass should be in next week for the front window frames he has already completed.

Inside they will have a V-berth, a single burner stove, and two seats serving both as a helm station and rotating to use with a fold up table. Their intention is to use it on the rivers around the midwest to start out. Who knows where they might end up.

 We had a great visit with our old friends and after some more education about the boat, we departed on Friday morning. I was able to get my pilots license, medical (still current), and my log book from the trailer we have stored there and we headed back to St. Louis.

We arrived on Friday afternoon and after visiting with my Aunt, we then went over to Mikes for a short practice. Today I was able to meet up with another old friend for lunch. Rick was the architect at my old place of employment and together we designed many 10's of million dollars worth of renovation and new construction. Thanks for the lunch and the great times we have had debating how the form really should follow the function for each design. We reminisced how much we enjoyed "arguing" about the details to ensure the end project exceeded the expectations of the College and the users.

 August 5 - Last night we played our "Gig" at Colorado Bob's Ship of Fools. As you can see to the right, we even made the main chalk board. Mike and I are known as Last Flyte Out or in this case Last Flight Out. (It's a copyright thing.)

Below you see a picture of Bob in his office. It is always fun to play here because the crowd has always been receptive and seemed to enjoy the music. Maybe that is because the bartenders know what we play, enjoy it and let the "regulars" know what music is going to be played. Of course it also helps if you bring your own crowd with you too. Our "crowd" started showing up early.

The picture to the lower right is one of Mary, Deb, and Jerry. We hadn't seen them for at least 4 years and they live about two hours from St. Louis. It just happened they were reading our website and decided they would show up for the last show of the "Last Flyte Out Reunion Tour - 2007." Not only did they show up, they also invited some of their boys too. I'll make it short without going into way too much detail. We had a lake house for a while and whenever we wanted to borrow some kids to entertain, we could always count on Mary and Jerry to provide several. We all water skied, fished and sailed together and had way too much fun. These are some great times in our memories.

 To the left, you can see some of the crowd. At this time, we figured out that besides our friends, we also had a very receptive crowd. We had people singing along at the tables with about every song. It was to be a great evening.

Lower left is a picture of Bob and Sue who are long time friends from the Central West End in St. Louis. To the right is a picture of one of my longest term friends, Eric. We go back to my college days when I was studying electronics and he was trying to teach me physics. He was the sponsor of the ham club and we also played tennis together. We then got connected back up professionally and besides work we always shared a great interest in music and sound. In the same picture is Mike and his long term friend John. Mike just finished helping John with a huge roof extension project which came off beautifully. I think they are both still celebrating a very well done project.

 To the right is my Aunt Sandy. I think my cousin Julie found every beer bottle she could for this picture. Sandy wasn't drinking but it sure makes a good picture. Deb and Sandy were only going to stay for part of the first set and then came the friends we haven't seen in WAY too long which changed everything.

Below left you can see a picture we captured at the first band break of Mary, William, Deb, me, Jason, and Jerry. Mary and Jerry's third son in attendance, Daniel, wasn't there yet for the picture.

Mike always gives his heart and soul when singing. It is just too much fun to play with him and I love the variety of music which spans from country to rock. You can see Mike in the center below and I'm off sitting on Bob's lap playing my guitar to Collide. After all, you have to have some audience participation every now and then.

 Speaking of audience participation, my cousin Julie actually entertained the crowd for a song. Julie is normally the photographer Here, she is "singing" her own song. Well, maybe she was just lip syncing but it sure made a good picture and we actually have one of her.

Below are more pictures of the friends, family and some of the "regulars" at the Ship of Fools.

I don't think there was a sky cam but I did see Julie up on a bar stool taking pictures during the evening. I was hoping her balance was good.

To the right of Deb is William and just behind her is Daniel. I hope they had as much fun as we did seeing them. If you look close behind Daniel, you can see me and just to the left is Greg and Eric. I have to tell you a bit about Greg. I hadn't seen him in over 10 years and in a conversation with Eric, he found out about my website. After a quick search, he found the site on the web and found out that we were playing. So, like Mary and Jerry (and their family,) Greg and his new wife stopped by. Greg and I have also known each other since forever. We met at Eric's house back in college. Greg has hiked the Appalachian mountains along with many other adventures over the years. He also worked at the same college I did where he taught Physics and then Computer Literacy. Today, he is a computer systems administrator at Boeing. It was great catching up.

I was completely humbled by the people who stopped by to see us. I can't express how much we appreciated seeing everyone and how much you have meant in our lives. We appreciate your support as we are off, as Greg said to me, "living our dream rather than dreaming about living."

I also have to thank Julie for taking these pictures so I could enjoy everyone again as I write this. There never seems to be enough time for me to talk to people when I'm up on stage. Thanks again for stopping by, Mike and I hope you enjoyed the show.

 August 9 - My birthday was Tuesday and we just had to celebrate. It has actually been more of a birthday week since we started on Sunday with a wonderful turkey dinner. We have been going to my Aunt's house for Thanksgiving for "forever" and she just had to have a turkey dinner since we will be on the boat cruising again this year.

To the right you can see the turkey and below, as has been our tradition, I am carving it. To the right you can see another tradition, Deb stealing pieces as I cut. I always give her a disgusted look and this year was no exception.

Below those pictures you can see where we were having a great dinner together and of course the meal was excellent.

Although I normally enjoy life, I usually don't extend myself this much in a party. Julie started out with a party in a box along with a few other items she brought along. You can probably already figure out that if you have a fire extinguisher standing by next to all of those candles, then the night is probably going to be pretty fun.

We started out by reverting back a few years and we all had to make things from the "presents." Since I was missing the boat, I had to build a boat and put it to sea. We even had the marker buoys.

Next came the story of John. John passed away a few years ago but he still influences way too many events. What you might not know about John is that he LOVED fireworks. Of course everytime he sat them off, you probably would end up running or at least that is the way the story goes.

Tonight's birthday cake was covered in candles and I just couldn't blow it out. Therefore I decided to use a special fire extinguisher. As you look through the pictures below, you might figure out this may not have been the smartest thing I ever did in my life. One of the pictures didn't actually happen but I'm sure it should have!

Before we left St. Louis, I called Mike and he was up for one last gig/practice. My cousin had set up another party at a mutual friends house. As a matter of fact, you might remember Bill since he was on our boat for a day in Key West. We had a great time with him and wanted to see Bill and Randy again. As it ended up, more people were coming to use the pool so it was just natural to have a bit of an outside concert even though it was 100 degrees outside that afternoon.

We played for several hours and had a great time again. We also recorded the evening so we might just have 11 or 12 good songs out of the 40 or so we have recorded at this point. Who knows, there might even be a Last Flyte Out Reunion Tour 2007 CD available in the next few weeks.

 Everyone was staying cool in the pool but Mike talked me out of getting in too. Something about a one of a kind guitar that is plugged into an amplifier. Doesn't sound like a good mix does it. Water, electricity, and a one of a kind guitar. Instead, we simply played and did a bit of sweating.

We stopped, took a break, had a great fried chicken diner and then back to work again.

Ultimately, the evening ends and we broke down the equipment. We have had a tremendous time in St. Louis and on the entire trip. I am very happy we have the friends we have and the relationships that go with them. Thanks to everyone for being who you are.

 August 12 - Of course as soon as we arrived at Lake of the Ozarks, Deb and Linda went shopping. That meant that they were off and running to get the least expensive, cheapest things at the "upscale" outlet mall. Below left you can see them at real work inside one of the shops. I didn't show you a couple of pictures I took under threat of retaliation.

Below right you can see we didn't spend all of our time in the mall's. Instead, we went out on Steve and Linda's boat to enjoy the water and the sun. We think we have lost our tan's but that probably isn't a "bad thing." Hopefully we have had some recovery time for our skin while the rest of our bodies have taken the beating.

You can see the standard having fun at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. Floating around in a warm lake albeit cooler than the 96-100 degree air that was covering the area.

Of course I have to solve problems and when the dog with his life jacket on still tries to be front heavy I just had to experiment with some floats to get him so he could float alone. The first experiment was not quite right. I broke apart some floats and put them into his life jacket. However, that made him float higher but he wasn't in balance and would fall over to the side and then try to put his nose under the water. Not a good thing.

So we had to move to full size floats that were pushed through the life jacket to provide both upward floatation and balance. We ultimately came up with a solution and everyone gave me a toast along with thumbs up. A good day when you can solve a problem.

The ride back gave flashed back many good memories of when I previously fished this lake in MANY bass tournaments. In the end I had an 18 foot BassCat with a 200 HP motor. I went fast to the spots and caught quite a few fish. I just didn't have the guts to quit my job and become a pro. Oh well, I finally did quit my job and became a cruiser and what a life we lead today.

Below left you can see Steve and Linda's condo on the top of the building. They have a great place that overlooks the Grand Glaze bridge and the water. Of course I just had to see if I could get Wi-Fi to update the website and Deb along with Steve cooperated to see if raising the antenna would help. It didn't so that is why this update is being done from Omaha.

The picture to the right was taken from their condo and it was a beautiful sunset even though it was 98 degrees outside at the time.

You can see that Deb was busy packing while Steve and I took on the project to replace the light above the sink and breakfast bar.

We measured and believe it or not, it all came out great. We replaced a 4 foot fluorescent light with a nice set of lights which really made a difference in the way the place looked. All Steve needs to do next is to install a dimmer.

We also fixed a ceiling fan along with a lamp that had been damaged from a lighting storm.

Saturday before we left, we went over to some more friends house. Tim and Miriam have a wonderful home on the Lake and invited us all over for a great dinner along with some of their relatives.

We had a wonderful view of the lake along with their dock. I had to take the picture below because it shows the cover I sewed for Tim a couple of years ago for their jet ski. I also sewed an extension cover for their boat that took 30 yards of material. Yes that's right, 30 yards. It covered the entire rear of the boat and we were able to sew it along with the jet ski cover in one weekend. All is holding up well so that made me a bit proud.

To the lower right are some of the people that were there for dinner and they were wonderful in their hospitality and extending a great greeting to some wondering souls. They have a wonderful family and connection to each other. Deb and I hope each and everyone of them find as much happiness in the world as we have.